The Health Bureau today announced that the eHealth mobile application (eHealth App) will pilot the cross-boundary health record and personal folder functions from July 15 to facilitate cross-boundary healthcare collaboration.

The bureau added that the two new functions will enhance the continuity of care for Hong Kong citizens through facilitating the use of electronic health records (eHRs) at designated medical institutions outside Hong Kong in a secured manner.

Currently, elderly persons eligible to receive Elderly Health Care Vouchers (ECHVs) can seek medical consultations and claim ECHVs at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH).

The bureau pointed out that, under the pilot scheme, elderly persons using ECHVs at the HKU-SZH can apply for their eHRs deposited in eHealth over the past three years through the eHealth App in advance, while family members can also submit applications for elderly people via the caregiver function in the app.

Upon verification of the elderly persons' authorisation, they will receive a QR code linking to their health records and another QR code containing the password on their eHealth App.

Healthcare professionals of the HKU-SZH can then access and browse their health records by scanning the two QR codes presented by the elderly persons at the time of consultations to help them formulate diagnoses and provide treatments.

The bureau explained that the new function adopts multi-factor authentication to ensure that personal information is accessed in a safe environment.

It added that the verification of applications and preparation of eHRs should take no more than 72 hours, meaning that elderly individuals should submit their applications three days prior to receiving a consultation at the HKU-SZH to ensure that the eHRs will be ready for use at the time of the consultation.

As for the personal folder function, the bureau stated that it enables users to deposit medical-related personal records obtained from different sources in the eHealth App, including those obtained during consultations received in medical institutions outside Hong Kong.

Records deposited are then centrally stored in the app to provide convenience to users, including access by authorised medical institutions in Hong Kong through the eHealth system during follow-up care, it emphasised.

The bureau also noted that it will streamline the workflow and enhance user experience after collecting feedback during the pilot period, with a view to expanding the pilot arrangements to other medical institutions under the EHCV Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme.

For further details, call 3467 6300.